THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609140217
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 81 lines
The Navy commissioned the last of its Los Angeles-class fast attack submarines Friday, ending 20 years of construction on the world's largest series of nuclear-powered submarines.
More than 1,000 people looked on as the Cheyenne, the 62nd and last of its class, officially joined the Navy's ``silent service'' in a ceremony at the haze-shrouded Norfolk Naval Station.
For its builder, Newport News Shipbuilding, which constructed 29 of the ships, the event left the private shipyard experiencing an ``empty nest'' syndrome, said its chief executive officer.
``There are no new submarines under construction in our yard for the first time in 38 years,'' said William P. Fricks, president of Newport News Shipbuilding, which has built a total of 53 nuclear-powered submarines in its history.
The Cheyenne, he said, will always hold a special place in the hearts of the 18,000 shipyard employees, many of whom helped build it.
``The Cheyenne embodies nearly 40 years of perfecting the fine art of building a nuclear submarine,'' Fricks said. ``She is also a symbol of a partnership we built with the Navy that enabled us to deliver her a month ahead of schedule.''
Sen. John W. Warner, the primary speaker at the ceremony, promised the shipyard will be back in the submarine business within the next two years as the Navy looks into the future of sub construction.
Three Seawolf-class submarines - the latest designed by the Navy - are being built in Groton, Conn., by General Dynamics, which also shared in the construction of Los Angeles-class subs.
While Newport News lost out on the Seawolf construction, it stands to share in a follow-on class of about 30 subs. Construction on that model could begin shortly after the century's turn.
Warner, who was secretary of the Navy when the keel for the Los Angeles was laid in 1972 at Newport News, said he has seen the vital changes that needed to be made in the submarine force over the years.
He also cautioned that while the Russians may have a tattered army and a rusting fleet of surface ships today, it continues to put its money into a submarine force that remains modern and very capable.
``The former Russian military defense minister, an Army general, states that a nuclear submarine fleet is the future of Russian armed forces,'' Warner said.
``Let that be a beacon to all America, to our president and to the Congress to maintain that level of funding for the submarine fleet of the U.S. Navy that is necessary to deter any aggression.''
The Cheyenne, named for the capital of Wyoming, drew dozens of supporters from its namesake city 1,700 miles away.
During his address, Sen. Alan K. Simpson, R-Wyo., pointed to a number of people sitting in the audience in front of the Cheyenne. Behind them, on the other side of the pier, was another ship named for a city in his state - the logistics supply ship Laramie.
Simpson said, to the delight of the laughing crowd: ``There probably are more people sitting here today between (the) Cheyenne and (the) Laramie than there are really between Cheyenne and Laramie.''
``We don't get to commission very many ships,'' he added. ``We have few navigable waters in Wyoming. The . . . river is a mile wide and an inch deep; too thick to drink and too thin to eat, but that's another story.''
The senator's wife, Ann Schroll Simpson, is the Cheyenne's sponsor.
The Cheyenne's commanding officer, Cmdr. Peter Ozimek, placed the ship into commission as he ordered the first watch aboard. The 130-member crew ran from the pier to its black steel deck as the band master sounded off and the ship's whistle blared.
Cheyenne, a $750 million ship, is 360 feet long, 33 feet wide and displaces 6,927 tons. It is capable of diving to depths in excess of 800 feet. It can sustain speeds of more than 25 knots and will be armed with Harpoon missiles, and can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles from 12 vertical launch tubes. It also has torpedo and mine-laying capabilities. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by BETH BERGMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
A crew member salutes the flag atop the nuclear-powered Cheyenne at
commissioning ceremonies Friday at Norfolk Naval Station. The
Cheyenne is the 62nd and last of the Los Angeles-class fast attack
submarines. Sen. John W. Warner, the primary speaker at the
ceremony, promised that Newport News Shipbuilding will be back in
the submarine business within the next two years as the Navy looks
into the future of sub construction. by CNB